Tire Blowout Pics

[Str8shooter]

Just sharing a few pictures of the damage to our 2011 Raptor 300MP TH after a tire blowout. Took out the sheet metal siding, fender fairing as well as damage to the corrugated plastic bottom sheeting. Note the bent steel piece on the step frame and the black tire marks on the rear door.

I always maintain the max 80 PSI air pressure on the TV and 5'er and keep our speed at 60 MPH or less but it didn't help during our recent trip. Tires are TowMaster's (china bombs!) with over 6,700 miles on them since taking delivery of the trailer in July 2010. Stamp dates on the tires were current.

I've read just about every RV forum tire post out there so not certain where exactly I will go with our next set - Michelin XPS Ribs, Goodyear G614's, Maxxis, etc.

I've read about the damage a blowout can cause but until this experience had never seen it first hand.

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_56014_0_516431ebd724c87c876d67a7a92b9f24.jpg

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_56014_1_476cb22f7ce947de9d37677b235b8a6d.jpg

http://www.keystoneforums.com/attachments/photobucket/img_56014_2_af8ae915a8140b2704441ccba8e5fb59.jpg

[BRAPOM]

what was the tread depth of the tire that came apart, the one in front of the spare looks low? Sorry to see the damage. Does insurance cover this?

[Little Guy]

Str8,
Wow...those pics really got my attention. It seems that there are very few choices in trailer tires. Most are "china bombs" and none seem to have a satisfactory rating. I sure feel like we are at risk pulling these rigs around the country. Hopefully your losses are covered and your rig gets put back together like new. Thanks for sharing.
Marc

[Bigsky3625]

We have the G614' s on our 3625RE Big Sky (upgraded size and load) and knock on wood are doing well. We do use the TST 507 tpms to monitor pressure and temperature.

I do wish the DOT would be more stringent on trailer tire standards. Scary that they don't.

Good luck on your choice. I would recommend going to a higher rated tire if it is in your budget. At least the 614's are made in the U.S.

[mhs4771]

Rick, before you consider the G614s you need to check the rating on your Rims. The G614s require rims rated to handle 110 PSI, many of the OEM wheels from Keystone are only rated to 80 PSI. There's a lot of folks on the MOC that are running the Michelins with good results. Good luck with the repairs.

[Bigsky3625]

Agreed. I said upgraded. You should never consider a tire and rim combo that doesn't work. Rims and tire ratings are tied together. Sorry I assumed that the OP knew that. Thanks for the clarification.

[PA5er]

I just finished reading this article by Mark Polk. This tire thing is crazy :banghead:. In the MOC forum, they thought they had it all figured out with the G614's until tire wear became a problem. They are some what back to the drawing board.
["http://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/11/08/trailer-towing-st-tires-vs-lt-tires/"]
Sorry about the link. Quess you can highlight cut and paste.

[Bigsky3625]

I just finished reading this article by Mark Polk. This tire thing is crazy :banghead:. In the MOC forum, they thought they had it all figured out with the G614's until tire wear became a problem. They are some what back to the drawing board.
["http://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/11/08/trailer-towing-st-tires-vs-lt-tires/"]
Sorry about the link. Quess you can highlight cut and paste.

Huh? Where in the article did they address wear issues with the 614's? I think I missed it.

That is why I use a TPMS, load the trailer evenly and tow at 60MPH. Always check pressure before the trip and before the drive home. We carry a 150psi compressor as well.

Not saying I know it all. Trailer tires need some serious help in the making the travel for us and the people around us on the road safer.

[Bigsky3625]

I just finished reading this article by Mark Polk. This tire thing is crazy :banghead:. In the MOC forum, they thought they had it all figured out with the G614's until tire wear became a problem. They are some what back to the drawing board.
["http://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/11/08/trailer-towing-st-tires-vs-lt-tires/"]
Sorry about the link. Quess you can highlight cut and paste.

Just a question for you on the trailer weight and TV capacity. I see that trailer is over 10K pounds and you tow it with a 3/4 ton? Where are you in the safety zone? Seems like a lot of trailer for that truck.

[fla-gypsy]

If those are 16" wheels you have a few LT tire choices. Those of us with 15" wheels have no other choices. I did switch to Maxxis (M8008) and have used them 5 years now with no issues.

[Str8shooter]

Q: BRAPOM - "What was the tread depth of the tire that came apart"
A: Tread depth was very good. Two of the four tires, the tire you mention and one on the opposite side (and opposite of the blown tire) have outer wear due to axle alignment.

I plan to follow BigSky's lead and purchase a TPMS which I hope will help to prevent future blowouts. Also like BigSky, I would like DOT to dig into this problem of china made trailer tires coming apart.

Thanks to mhs4771 for the comment about rim capacities as this is very important and something many may overlook when considering a tire with a higher PSI rating.

BigSky, my trailer/TV combo is at the upper range of capacity and within its design limits. This situation would not of course impact the load capacity of the 16" rims and appropriately rated tires on the trailer. Just saying.

[byrdr1]

Been here done that, but I was lucky we were traveling back from Charleston, SC in group of campers and one was my friend who called me and said you tire looks low. I slowed down and was looking for the next exit when BAM! it went but lucky for me I was pulling off the side of the road towards the exit.
I as not traveling fast enough for it to damage anything other that the tire. PUT Maxxis on and ran them until they had a problem?, Tire dealer made all 4 of them good. Traded for the 5er less than 2 months later so someone got a used camper with NEW tires on it and the spare was a Maxxis too.
see the photos on page 17 of the Charleston James Island County park 2007 on my webshots before its too late.
randy

[fla-gypsy]

If you are forced to use ST tires because of size I would recommend the Maxxis brand. They have worked well for me. Being diligent about pressure and keeping them covered when not in use is also vital IMO

[antiqfreq]

Our MAXXIS tires will be 5 years in March.

NO problems at all.

Jo

[volvosweetie]

We came back from a trip Labor day week and as my husband was blocking the tires he noticed cracks in our side walls of camper tires:eek:. He had not noticed that when we got to the campground and chocked the wheels. He was extremely shaken that we had drove on tires that were bad. We too went to the maxxis tires not many other options other than the towmax and several other cheapo tires. I can't remember what brand we had but according to my research they were worse than towmax. It was a good thing that we were prayed up on travel safety. I thought it was odd that 2 days in a row my husband prayed for travel safety. I too think that they should be more stringent on how tires for trailers are made. It is scary to think that for no reason tires blow due to cheap production measures because the junk tires cost as much as the better ones.:(

[Quiroule]

The tires on my FW are Towmax STR Power King, are these the same as the TowMaster mentioned by Str8shooter?

They now have about 14,000 miles on and I am getting worried.

[raytronx]

On my second set of Towmax Powerking STR tires, 30,000 miles towed, not one problem. Replaced the first set at 25,000 because the treads were wearing down. Usually keep inflated 62-65 lbs and tow at an average speed of 55-60 mph. My load is about 15-20 % under the max rating for the tires.

[smiller]

I'm going to guess that the OP meant Towmax, not Towmaster. Many have had no problems with the Towmax, and many have had results similar to the OP... and I don't like those odds. I experienced a tire failure (not a Towmax) and damage similar to the OP and it's amazing how that changes your personal level of acceptable risk. The Maxxis have an excellent track record and I'll also note as I have in other threads that I compared two Towmax and Maxxis tires of the same size (ST235/80-16) off the rim and the Maxxis were noticeably heavier and had much sturdier sidewalls. And I mean a lot, as in a quite surprising difference. I can't say how much that may or may not affect reliability but I decided to replace the OEM Towmax with a set of Maxxis and haven't looked back, the peace of mind is worth it to me. Admittedly all Internet tire talk of tire failures is anecdotal so make of it what you will, but the physical difference between the tires was real and is what convinced me.

Also no matter what tires you choose install a TPMS system. The best tire in the world will fail if it is running low due to a nail you didn't know you picked up, and if that happens the second tire on the same side will also eventually fail due to being grossly overloaded, and that is BAD news.

[Str8shooter]

I'm going to guess that the OP meant Towmax, not Towmaster.

Smiller, you are absolutely correct! I mistakenly typed TowMaster when in fact my 5'er came with the Power King Towmax tires. See, you can believe everything you see on the internet! LOL :rolleyes:

[tanman32225]

I am running Akuret st235/85/16 tires. Never heard of this brand on our new voltage. They have about 5k or so on them now without issue and run at a solid 60 to 65 sometimes a little higher down hill. Since we have a toyhauler and frequently haul 2k or more in the back I worry about the tires handling the load. They are Load rated E and thinking of moving to F or G but never thought of the rims not handling the pressures. How can I determine the pressure my rims are capable of holding if I go to a higher rated tire? Would going from an E rated to F or G rated and the pressure going up rupture the rim. Does going to a higher pressure require a different valve stem and if so can anyone provide a link to good stems?
OH btw if anyone knows anything good or bad about these tires please jump in.

[smiller]

Never heard of Akuret but you can look at the DOT code and see where they were manufactured, for whatever that's worth. As to determining whether your rims can handle a higher pressure, the max. pressure will be stamped somewhere on the rim. If you are lucky it will be somewhere on the back (inward facing) side of the rim, if you are unlucky it will be on the inside and not visible with a tire installed.

But before you worry about whether you can use a higher pressure tire I'd add up the maximum weight capacity of your E-rated tires and compare it to the max. gross weight of your unit, minus the pin weight (IOW you are looking for the weight that is actually on your axles.) If you end up with at least a 15-20% safety margin then you are probably safe using good-quality E-rated tires. If less than that then a size upgrade may be in order.

[CWtheMan]

I am running Akuret st235/85/16 tires. Never heard of this brand on our new voltage. They have about 5k or so on them now without issue and run at a solid 60 to 65 sometimes a little higher down hill. Since we have a toyhauler and frequently haul 2k or more in the back I worry about the tires handling the load. They are Load rated E and thinking of moving to F or G but never thought of the rims not handling the pressures. How can I determine the pressure my rims are capable of holding if I go to a higher rated tire? Would going from an E rated to F or G rated and the pressure going up rupture the rim. Does going to a higher pressure require a different valve stem and if so can anyone provide a link to good stems?
OH btw if anyone knows anything good or bad about these tires please jump in.


"Del-Nat" is the combining of Delta and National tires = Del-Nat.
Facilities are in Memphis, TN. The Del-Nat site lists several brands of tires being mfg in several countries.

The Akuret brand is used for lots of applications cars, tractors, etc.

If you continue "chasing" info on Akuret, the trailer tires are actually mfg by Guizhou Tire Co., Guiyang, China. Info is in the Tire Business site (from 2011) - but won't link without a membership. If you Google: "China's Doublestar partners" - the first "hit" should be from Tire Business dot com.

See the last paragraph, for Akuret ST Tires source.

The above information was provided by another poster on another forum.

CW

[Ken / Claudia]

Thought I would mention, My truck tires where aired up, new, new rubber valve stems when the weight and heat blew out the valve stems. They were rated to 120 psi but, as I found out still rip apart at 80 psi with a heavy load. Get them out and replace with metal stems, check psi daily. Since than (2006) never another problem. They could be causeing failures that you think are tire related. Any RV tires over 8 years old are on borrowed time even when correctly inflated.

[Str8shooter]

The collision department at Camping World did a great job of fixing the damage to our Raptor fifth wheel. I always felt if I could get the parts I could do the repairs much cheaper but, with a $500 insurance deductible why do it myself.

AAA worked great with CW who did a great job with all repairs. Total cost - $3,130!!! Yup, I couldn't believe it and all my insurance adjuster would say was "thank you for your 19 years with AAA". How great is that!

In hopes of preventing this kind of damage in the future I ordered a TST brand tire pressure monitoring system. No matter how much attention you give to your tires if a tire picks up something causing a slow to moderate leak, pressure is lost and heat build up blows the tire. The TST system monitors both pressure and heat.

Merry Christmas

[CWtheMan]

The OP has provided very good quality pictures. I copied #1 & #3 and enlarged them X4.

The lead tire shows abnormal wear on the outer edge. There are three distinct causes for such wear: 1. Under-Inflation (you could have a bad gauge). 2. Loss of camber or Over-Loading. 3. Axle not square to frame. Of course there could also be something wrong with the axle.

Any of those conditions will cause excess heat in the tire which will eventually cause the tread to separate from the carcass. The amount of damage and it’s arc of destruction - to me - indicates the tread started peeling off the carcass before the carcass failed.

RV trailer tires (IMO) are the most abused tires on the highway. It’s not necessarily an owners fault when they fail. Sometimes the axles or entire suspension system is completely out of alignment. By the time the damage to the tires shows-up it’s too late.

You cannot trust that tire that was on there when the other one failed. It needs to be replaced before going too far on it.

For those reading this that have mechanical skills, the reference provided may be of some interest to you.

http://www.centrevilletrailer.com/news-notices/trailer-tire-problems-tips.htm

CW

[Ken / Claudia]

CW, I did not get a look at the tire that was not blown but, I agree with everything you said regarding RV tires. Also people think that good tread left on a RV tire means it's OK. They rot from the inside and 6 to 8 years they will likely fail when traveling. I seen a spare tire in a cover never on the road that was about 10 years old blow up in the summer heat. I also helped with a fatal fire truck crash that had front tires 17 years old, almost new type tread. The tires were rotten but, no one thought so since they looked OK.

[Snoopdog]

I am reading all this with great interest...does anyone know where the Maxxis tires are made?

[B&T]

I am reading all this with great interest...does anyone know where the Maxxis tires are made?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Shin_Rubber

[smiller]

From the DOT code they are manufactured in Thailand, for whatever that matters.

[Festus2]

After reading the above link, it would seem that Maxxis tires are made offshore, in China and other Asian countries, and distributed in North America. I guess the only way to verify their origin is to check on the sidewall.

If they are made in China or Thailand do they then fall into the category of another "China Bomb" and to be avoided at all costs? And all along I thought Maxxis trailer tires were a cut above and were the tire of choice of many RVers, many of whom swapped their China Bombs for Maxxis as an upgrade.

[smiller]

AFAIK no one has ever found a manufacturing origin code other than Thailand on M8008 Maxxis. But yeah... it seems the fact that Maxxis are made offshore and have an excellent track record just gets ignored by the 'China Bomb' crowd because in that case the facts don't fit with the mantra.